[Australia]Bend it like genderMan-turned-woman Martine Delaney says the science of gender is not just black and white.(Photo: Martine Delaney says she is driven by her desire to get people to think differently about their assumptions about gender.)

[USA] [Blog/Commentary] Discrimination and EntitlementMuch has been said about employment discrimination with regards to the transgender. ENDA, the Employment Non Discrimination Act, is highly touted by both the GLB and the transgender. I have no feelings on ENDA one way or the other. But with well over a hundred combined municipalities and states having statutes and ordinances prohibiting employment discrimination based on GLBT identification…and, at least to hear that same GLBT talk, those statutes and ordinances having little or no effect on GLBT employment, it will be anything but the transgender holy grail.

[USA] [News/Health] It's About Life and DeathControversy over the "true" sex of South African 800-meter world champion Caster Semenya displays the anxiety many still have over gender. People that do not line up neatly as male or female face social ostracization, as well as outright hostility or violence. This can become a matter of life and death for those that decide to physically transgress the gender binary, not just due to physical attacks, but from the need for basic medical care. For transsexuals, trying to access health care can be an impossible ordeal, as it can result in being denied assistance by medical professionals, or being written off as having psychological issues. Writer Eleanor Bader looks at one facility, the Feminist Women’s Health Center in Atlanta, that decided to break this trend. The Center offers a model for other medical facilities to proactively care for the trans community and prevent any more needless deaths due to ignorance and fear.

The life of Sally Gross challenges many of our preconceptions about who we are, especially in a society that accepts only two genders, male and female. Born Jewish, Gross later became a Christian and a Dominican priest. This was possible because she was classified male at birth. But Sally Gross is not transexual, she is intersexed. This article by Stephen Coan tells her story and examines the issues raised by intersexuality in a gender-stereotyped society. (This article was first published in The Natal Witness in three parts from February 21-23, 2000.)

Transgenders, often distanced by society, will soon have a clinic functioning exclusively for them in this former French enclave. Even as a group of transgenders in Chennai launched a matrimonial website exclusively for them, in Puducherry the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute showcased a clinic, which, they claimed was the first such medical facility for transgenders in south India.

Little did i know what was in store for me when I accepted a lunch invitation from a VOL reader whom I had never met. Soon, I found myself seated at a nearby Chinese restaurant, opposite a lady who proceeded to tell me that she is a transgendered person.

“Whether they want to admit it or not, the numbers on the web show us that there’s definite interest,” says Alex Ladd, co-owner and head of production for DVSX.com. In an interview with adult-industry newssource Xbiz.com, Ladd couched the trend in the language of his trade: “Straight men want trannies.”

Trans women seem to be turning up everywhere in the media and are sometimes quite visible in everyday society, but trans men are frequently unseen, leading non-trans people to believe that there are far fewer trans men than trans women.

The other night in Denver, two people took a hammer and busted several windows at the state Democratic Party headquarters. Cops caught one of the suspects right away, 24 year old Maurice Schwenkler. Local Dems wasted no time in blaming the attack on “hate” being spread by right wing conservatives, because the windows held pictures of Obama and pro-Obamacare signs.

For most students going to the restroom at school is a normal, simple part of the day. But 16-year-old Kyle Giard-Chase says it is not so simple when your gender identity doesn't match your biological sex.

Daytime violence in any city stirs fear in the hearts of local residents, and when it appears members of a certain community were targeted, that community must remain aware. On the 200 block of Q street NW, two trans women were attacked near a Transgender support center, Transgender Health Empowerment, Inc On Wednesday at 2:30pm. There will be a vigil tonight at 6:30PM at 209 Q St. NW.

[Pakistan] [Blog/Commentary]Pakistan’s undesirables: ‘Dealing with’ the hijra problemThere’s a thought-provoking post over at Sherryx’s Weblog (link here) about the hijra community in Pakistan.(T-Vox carries this definition of hijra: “In the culture of the Indian subcontinent a hijra is a physically male or intersex person who is considered a member of ‘the third sex.’”)[Hong Kong] Genderless toilet roils sex-change bankerA male bank worker who was assigned a genderless toilet after dressing as a woman at work has lodged a discrimination complaint against his employer.The man, who works for banking giant HSBC in Hong Kong, is taking female hormone tablets in preparation for a full sex change and claims that as a result he is unable to use both the male and female toilets, the Hong Kong Standard reported.

[USA] [Commentary] The Government Is Already Paying for Transsexual ‘Sex-Change’ OperationsSay No to Taxpayer-Funded “Tranny-Care”: No American citizen should be forced to pay for body-disfiguring “sex-change” operations with his or her tax dollars. In this photo, the (biological) woman at right — her healthy breasts surgically removed to match her desired “male” identity — marches in a Boston “transgender pride” parade. Urge your Congressman and Senators (202-224-3121) to oppose Obama-care, which will end up funding abortions and these hideous “trans” mutilations.

[USA] Transgender Mayoral Candidate to Sue Twitter over Defamatory Fake AccountA transgender woman currently running for Mayor in Nampa, Idaho is planning to sue the social networking site Twitter for allowing a false account posted in her name to remain accessible for weeks after requesting that they take it down.Melissa Sue Robinson, who entered the mayoral race in June, told KTRV she was shocked to find a link under her name to a Twitter account titled “WomanWithAPenis.” This same account was also reported to have sent lewd tweets to a Michigan reporter. Robinson recounted:

[USA] [Blog/Law/Commentary] Legal Analysis of ENDA, Sections 1-2In about two weeks, Congress will go back into session, and a vote on ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, will probably follow shortly thereafter. Known as HR3017 in the U.S. House of Representatives, and S1584 in the Senate, it appears poised for passage. (You can view the legislative spreadsheets here and here.) The bill contains a number of provisions that require interpretation. This is the first in a series of posts designed to explore the bill.[CO, USA] [News/Commentary] Transgendered anarchist is Democrat HQ vandalVandals broke out the windows of the Colorado Democratic party headquarters the other night, and did about $11,000 worth of damage. An anti-Obamacare poster was left at the scene, prompting Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak to suggest that “…opposition rhetoric over the health care debate led to the vandalism.”

[DC,USA] D.C. Transgender Community Outraged After Fatal StabbingThere's fear in D.C.'s transgender community after a stabbing that left one person dead and another injured Wednesday afternoon. Family and friends of the victim gathered outside a transgender help center blocks from the crime Thursday. There, they denounced what happened to 21-year-old Joshua Mack who went by the name Nana Boo.

A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state's middle and high schools to offer genderless bathrooms.Kyle Giard-Chase, 16, asked the Vermont Human Rights Commission on Thursday to endorse the effort. He said that before he came out last year as transgendered, he was a three-sport athlete and the co-captain of the field hockey team, a girls' sport, at South Burlington High School.[OR, USA] Teacher breaks silence; he’s a sheA long time teacher has been hiding a secret for years and when students return to school they will go from calling him “he” to “she”.For 20 years Nicholas Kintz taught math at West Linn High School and while at home for the last three years she’s lived as Nicole Kintz. (Photo)[HI,USA] Attorney: Victim was transgender inmateThe attorney for a man who was allegedly sexually assaulted Sunday at O'ahu Community Correctional Center said the victim is a transgender inmate and that the assailant is a male corrections officer.

sexta-feira, agosto 28, 2009

[UK] [Science/Medicine] Several degrees of androgynyIt is the first question any parent asks after the birth of their child: is it a girl or a boy? In rare cases the midwife has to say honestly: ''I don't know.''

[India] World's first matrimonial site for transsexualsKalki Subramanian is young, liberated and looking for an Indian man who is loving, compassionate, educated. Oh, and one more thing — he should be OK with marrying a transsexual.But Kalki isn’t leaving her hopes for a suitable boy to destiny. The founder-director of the Sahodari foundation, that works for transgenders, is setting up a matrimonial website for transsexual women — the first of its kind in the world.

[Hong Kong] She just won't stand for itAn employee assigned to a "genderless" toilet since coming out with plans for a sex change is fighting for the right to use a washroom reserved for the gender of his choice.

[Vietnam] Pattaya ‘girls’ draw big crowds at Hanoi cafeAmong Hanoi’s thousands of cafés, the Dem Vong Café has enjoyed an unusual popularity – for nearly a year, it’s been the venue for fashion shows by ‘Pattaya,’ a group of five openly transsexual Vietnamese ‘girls.’In HCM City, transsexuals are no longer uncommon. They often appear at cafes, bars, hairdressing salons and tea-shops. Not so in Hanoi. The show at Dem Vong Café is unique.(Photo: Five members of Pattaya group.)

[New Zealand] [News/Commentary] Transgender law changes: progress reportThe long slow process of preparing a Bill to address legal identity and discrimination issues for transgender people has not made many headlines lately, but it continues nonetheless. Allyson Hamblett of Genderbridge, one of several groups and many individuals calling for the law to be updated, offers a progress report.Transgender law change support grows[Canada] Trans issue makes front-page news in ManitobaThe Manitoba NDP government's refusal to fund sex reassignment surgeries has finally made headline news in the province's mainstream press.

[USA] Liev Schreiber gets giddy in dressLiev Schreiber has told how donning a dress to play a transvestite in his new film made him feel "giddy".The 41-year-old macho actor plays a tough, ex-Marine transvestite in Ang Lee's new comedy Taking Woodstock.

[CO, USA] Transperson Arrested for Vandalizing Denver Democratic HQIn what a Republican lawmaker has touted as a bid to win sympathy for Democrats, an anarchist transperson allegedly shattered windows at the Democratic headquarters in Denver, Colorado.However, the status of one vandal, currently in custody, as an anarchist who writes for a site called "Queers Agaisnt Obama" seemingly contradicts that theory.(Photo Source: Denver Police Dept. - Maurice Schwenkler, a.k.a. Ariel Attack.)

[Australia] Transman victoryIn a decision hailed as a victory by transgender activists, two transmen have won the right to be legally considered men without sex reassignment surgery.

[Dominican Republic] [News/Commentary] A constitution to impose injusticeExcerpt: The homophobic campaigns by the mainstream media, government and the Church that blame LGBT people for the spread of the AIDS virus have created a dangerous climate for anyone to be open about their sexuality. Several transsexuals have been brutally murdered, creating panic and fear in a community that is under constant police watch.

Our economy is crap. American families are facing homelessness in numbers not seen since the Great Depression and, like in the Great Depression, we find ourselves returning to family with greater frequency. This can be especially complicated for the individual with gender variance, especially when the transperson’s family is trans-ignorant or downright transphobic.

[USA]Bash Back!: The New LGBT Activism?Details magazine offers a provocative, if at times strained, feature on the “fearsome gay gangsters of Bash Back!” the “elusive band of transgender anarchists, radical sex workers, and queer troublemakers" who explicitly reference violence as an answer to oppression. The group has gained notoriety in the past year for in-your-face protest tactics that leave some members of the LGBT establishment feeling deeply uncomfortable.[USA] [Film] Taking WoodstockAs Ang Lee films go, Taking Woodstock is relatively painless. When he isn’t reaching for lofty, awards-baiting heights (Brokeback Mountain) or being deathly, soul-sappingly dull (The Ice Storm), the infrequent pleasures in the director’s work tend to rise to the surface. This adaptation of a memoir by Elliot Tiber, who was instrumental in organizing the 1969 “peace and love” concert, is most rewarding when it abandons narrative altogether.

[USA] Oprah protege Dr Phil accused of "pathologising" LGBT peopleAmerican TV personality Dr Phil has been accused of giving a platform to controversial ex-gay therapists.The pop psychologist, who does not have a medical degree, first shot to fame as a regular guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and his own series of shows and self-help books have proved popular.

An executive with The Wendy Williams Show has issued a formal apology to drag queen and performance artist Erickatoure Aviance, who was told at a taping of the show that she would be removed from the audience if she tried to appear on camera.

terça-feira, agosto 25, 2009

[UK] [Blog/Commentary] Brain SexTranssexual and intersex people are different, it is this that makes the transgender lobby nervous.[UK] [News/Health] NHS in Scotland spent £1.5m on sex changesDoctors in Scotland have spent more than £1.5m over the past five years referring transsexuals for sex-change operations on the NHS.More than 100 patients have undergone "gender reassignment surgery" at private clinics and hospitals in England because Scotland lacks the specialist facilities needed to carry out the operations.

[USA] An interview with transgender author Matt KaileyMatt Kailey wears many hats. He is a writer, editor, media personality and public speaker on transgender issues. He has spoken at universities across the country as well as appeared in documentaries. (Photo courtesy of author/Matt Kailey)

[USA] [Blog/Health/Medicine] Does A Sex Change Really Change Your Sex?Gender reassignment, known casually as a sex change, is any procedure performed to give a patient sexual characteristics that differ from those of the patient’s biological sex. The vast majority of sex reassignment surgical procedures are sought by male-to-female transgender individuals, but an increasing number of female-to-male transsexuals, sometimes called transsexual men, are seeking gender reassignment.

World-class South African athlete Caster Semenya, age 18, won the 800 meters in the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships on August 19. But her victory was all the more remarkable in that she was forced to run amid a controversy that reveals the twisted way international track and field views gender.

Better late than never, right? We were scheduled to announce the final two winners in the 2009 GaySocialites Awards on Friday, but the GaySocialites headed for Fire Island this weekend and got off track.

Governor Paterson issued the following statement in response to the sentencing of Dwight R. Delee, who was convicted of a fatal bias-crime against Lateisha Green, an African-American transgender woman:

New York, the first state in the union to enact an anti-discrimination statute, continues to be serious about the enforcement of laws prohibiting hate crimes. And while we have seen successes, we must maintain vigilance to stamp out such hate-driven behavior to save lives and to nurture a civilized social climate.

This coming week, just as many schools are ready to open, Brandon McInerney is scheduled to graduate early — to murder defendant.Brandon, now 15, is accused of shooting and killing his classmate Larry King just before Valentine’s Day 2008 at E.O. Green School in Oxnard.

Keeping a hospital appointment in the Argentine capital is a far less fearsome ordeal for transgender persons, a sector of the population that according to doctors had "dramatic" statistics of illness, when they are accompanied by trained health promoters who, like them, have chosen a different gender identity.